In the gear inspection process, subject gears must be held tightly in place on an arbor assembly. The arbors that exist today do not release the subject gear easily because of the reverse-taper principle inherent in the expanding collet design in which, two opposing female tapers are wedged open by externally applied opposing male tapers. The small angle of the female tapers, which are necessary to create large outwardly-directed radial forces, hold the subject gears inside diameters securely but tend to lock into the matching male tapers much like a Morse or Brown and Sharpe taper. As a result, the subject gear and expanding collet are not easily separated. Quick separation, without the use of external dislodging means, is necessary to make the inspection process more efficient.